Support call to help parents with twins

PARENTS of twins and triplets should get more support to cope with the physical, emotional and financial pressures, campaigners say.

A petition has been lodged by Jennifer Edmonstone, secretary of the East Kilbride Twins and Triplets Club who said grants and policies including the Baby Box scheme were too “general.”

She called on the government to increase and match child benefit for each multiple born and provide more funding, earlier for childcare.

She told Holyrood’s Public Petitions Committee: “Many of the relevant Scottish Government policies I accept are aimed at families more generally, including baby boxes and grants.

“Via this petition I want to show that having multiple births is so different in so many ways and therefore the government needs to aim some of its relevant policies directly at families with multiples.”

MSPs heard that in addition to a high risk pregnancy and birth, 68% of twins and 95% of triplets are born pre- maturely compared to 7% of all births.

Ms Edmonstone said more than half (52%) of twins require extra time in hospital, with further medical care once discharged a common consequence of premature birth.

In addition she told the committee that post natal depression and relationship breakdown are more prevalent in families with multiples, while 80% of mothers of twins or triplets do not breastfeed compared to 60% of singleton mothers.

On the financial side, she said the cost of sending two children to nursery on a full time basis was around £55,000 over six years for two children born two years apart, compared to £70,000 over only five years for twins.

She said: “Ways in which the Scottish Government could help are as follows: increase and match child benefit for each multiple born, provide more funding earlier for childcare for families with multiples and provide support for improvements in maternity leave, maternity pay and paternity pay by bringing this petition to the attention of Westminster.”